Alices Adventures in Wonderland

A
Alice goes down a rabbit hole

5 It was a warm day in July and Alice and her sister were sitting
on the grass in a field. Alices sister was reading but Alice was
bored. There was nothing for her to do. She looked around and
yawned. She was hot and she was beginning to feel sleepy. She
yawned again.

A
Alice
Why did Alice feel bored?
Why did she feel sleepy?
What do you usually do when you feel bored and sleepy? A
What do you think happens next?

Suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran past her.

Oh dear! Oh dear! Im late! Very late! he was muttering to
himself. He stopped and took a big watch out of his waistcoat
pocket. He looked at it and said, Oh dear! Oh dear! again, and
continued running.
How very curious! Alice thought. A rabbit in a waistcoat
with a pocket watch! I wonder where hes going.
She got up and ran after him. He went across the grass to the
corner of the field and disappeared down a rabbit hole. Alice
followed him down the hole, too.

y
Glossar
bored: tired and not interested (usually waistcoat: short jacket with no
because you have nothing to do) sleeves
curious: strange wonder: ask myself
muttering: speaking quietly to himself yawned: opened her mouth wide
rabbit hole: hole where rabbits live
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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Down, down, down she fell, into the deep, dark hole. She
looked down but she couldnt see the bottom of it. All around her
there were a lot of bookshelves and cupboards. There were also
some pictures and maps on the walls. She saw some jars on the
shelves. She picked one up and read the label.

She opened it but it was empty. What a pity! she thought,

and she put it in one of the cupboards as she fell past it. Down,
down, down.
I must be near the centre of the earth now, she thought.
Thats about four thousand miles down, I think. (Alice knew
this from a geography lesson.)
There was nothing else to do so Alice continued talking to
herself. Poor Dinah! (Dinah was her cat.) Are you missing me,
Dinah? What a pity you arent here, too! But there arent any
mice for you to catch. Perhaps you could catch a bat. Do cats
like bats, I wonder? She was asking herself this when, suddenly,
THUMP! She landed on some leaves at the bottom of the hole.
She could see a long dark passage in front of her and the
White Rabbit was at the end of it. She ran after him quickly but
he disappeared round a corner. When she got there, she found
herself in a big empty room. The White Rabbit wasnt there. She
looked around her. There were a lot of doors. She tried to open
them but they were all locked.
How am I going to get out of this room? she asked herself
and she started to feel a bit worried.

y
Glossar
a bit: a little passage: corridor
are you missing me?: (to miss someone/ picked one up: got one in her hands
something) are you sad because I am what a pity!: expression you use
not with you? when you feel sorry about something
catch: get (to eat) worried: anxious or afraid
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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Then she saw a small glass table. There was a little golden key
on it. She picked it up and put it in all the locks on the doors
but it didnt open any of them. She moved a curtain on one of
the walls and discovered another door, a very small one. She put
the key in the lock. It was exactly the right size! She opened the
door and looked through it. At the end of a low passage she saw
a beautiful garden. It was full of brightly coloured flowers and
fountains.
Oh, how beautiful! she said. Id love to go there but Im too
big to get through the door.
She walked back to the table. There was a bottle on it now.
Im sure that bottle wasnt there before, she said, a little
confused.
She put down the key and picked up the bottle. She read the
words DRINK ME on it. Alice wasnt a stupid girl. She didnt
drink it immediately. First she looked at the bottle carefully.
There wasnt a label on it that said POISON.
So she put the bottle to her lips and drank.
Mmm, its nice, she said. It tasted like cherry tart, pineapple,
roast turkey and toast all the things that she liked to eat
so she drank some more. And some more. Soon the bottle was
empty.

A
Taste
Imagine you are Alice. Complete the
sentence and make it true for you.
I put the bottle to my lips.
The drink tasted like a) ..................,
b) .................., c) .................. and
d) .................. all the things that
A
I like to eat.

y
Glossar
lips: the two external edges of your tasted: had flavours when you put
mouth food or drink in your mouth
poison: it makes you very ill if you
eat or drink it

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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland
A
Alice cries a pool of tears

6 Curiouser and curiouser! (It wasnt good

English but Alice was surprised and forgot
how to speak correctly.)
Now Im getting taller and taller, she
said. She looked down at her feet. They
seemed very far away.
Goodbye feet! OUCH!
Alices head hit the ceiling of the room.
She was now more than nine feet tall.

A Height
What a curious feeling, she said. Im getting smaller and 1 foot = 30.48 centimetres and
smaller. It was true! She was now as small as her cat Dinah. 1 inch = 2.54 centimetres
Good! I can go through the door into garden, she said. But,
poor Alice! When she got to the door, she didnt have the key! a) How tall was Alice in
It was on the table. She couldnt reach it because she was too metres and centimetres
small now. She sat down and cried. after she ate the cake?
After a while she said, Alice! (She often talked to herself.) b) How tall are you in metres
Stop crying! Crying doesnt help! Dry your tears immediately! and centimetres? In feet
When she looked at the table again, she saw a small glass box and inches?
under it. She picked it up and opened it. There was a small cake c) Are you taller than your
inside. It had the words EAT ME on it. She put a small piece friends?
of it in her mouth. d) Who is the tallest person
If I grow bigger I can reach the key, she thought. And if I you know? How tall is A
grow smaller I can go under the door. he/she?
But nothing happened so she finished it.
y
Glossar
reach: touch something with an tears: water from the eyes far away: the opposite of near
extended arm height: how tall you are
pool: small area or small amount of
water

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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

She picked up the key and went back to the door. But she was
too big now. She sat down and started to cry again. She cried and
cried and cried. Her tears fell on the ground and soon there was
a pool of water around her.
PITTER, PATTER, PITTER, PATTER. She looked up. The White
Rabbit was running towards her. He had a fan in one hand and a
pair of white gloves in the other. As he ran he muttered, Oh, the
Duchess! The Duchess. Shes going to be very angry.
Alice whispered Sir please , but her voice frightened the
Rabbit. He dropped the fan and the gloves and ran away quickly
down a dark passage. Alice put the key on the table, picked up
the gloves and the fan and started to fan herself.
How strange everything is today, she said sadly. Yesterday
things were normal. Did I change during the night? Am I
a different girl today? If I am a different girl, who
am I? Am I Mabel? (Mabel was a girl at Alices
school.)
No, I cant be! I know a lot of things and
she knows well, only a few.

How confusing! I wonder if I can remember

the multiplication tables. Lets see four times five is twelve,
and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is oh dear!
What about geography? London is the capital of Paris, and Paris
is the capital of Rome, and Rome no, thats wrong. Perhaps I
am Mabel!

y
Glossar
a few: not many multiplication tables: in maths, for
dropped: let fall example, 2 x 2 = 4, 2 x 3 = 6,
fan: 2x4=8
whispered: said very quietly

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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

A
School subjects
What school subjects are these? Choose from the list.

art biology history music

a) The study of singing, instruments, etc.

b) The study of past events
c) The science of plants, animals etc.
A
d) The study of drawing, painting and sculpture

She looked down and saw that she was wearing the Rabbits
gloves!
How did that happen? she wondered. Am I getting smaller?
She was! She was getting smaller all the time.
It must be the fan! she thought, and she dropped it just
before she disappeared completely.
Good! I can go to the garden now, she said. But when she got
to the door, it was locked. And the key was on the table! And she
was too small to reach the top of it!
Oh dear! she sighed. What am I going to do now?
Suddenly SPLASH!
She was up to her chin in salty water. At first she thought it
was the sea. But it wasnt. She was in a pool of her own tears.
Why did I cry so much? she said. Now Im going to drown
in my own tears.
Then she heard a splashing noise not far away from her so she
swam closer to have a look. What was it?

y
Glossar
chin: lower part of the face under drown: go under water and not being
your mouth able to breathe
closer: nearer salty: containing salt; tasting of salt
sighed: made a sad sound by
breathing out
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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Lets talk about something else, Alice said quickly. Er, do

A hippopotamus? A walrus? No! It was only a mouse.
Silly Alice! she said. It looks big because you are small.
She swam up to it and said, Excuse me! Can you tell me the
way out of this pool, please? But the mouse didnt reply.
Perhaps its a French mouse, Alice thought, and she spoke to
it again. O est ma chatte? (This was the first sentence in her
French book at school.) When the mouse heard this, he jumped
and his body started to shake.
Oh, Im sorry! Alice said. I forgot. You dont like cats, do
you?
No, I dont, the mouse replied.
But my cat Dinah is a nice cat, Alice continued. Shes very
soft and shes very good at catching mice oh! Im sorry!
The mouse was shaking again, from its head to its tail.
you like dogs?
The mouse didnt answer so Alice continued.
Theres a little dog near our house. It belongs to a farmer and
its very clever. The farmer says its a very useful dog because it
kills all the rats and oh no! Youre angry now.
The mouse was swimming away noisily.
Alice called softly, Mouse! Dear, mouse! Please come back!
I promise not to talk about cats or dogs.
The mouse swam back and said, Do you want to know why
I dont like cats or dogs? Would you like to hear my story?
Yes, please, Alice said. But lets get out of the water.
They swam to the side of the pool and got out. There were a
lot of animals and birds in the water now, including a parrot, a
baby eagle, a duck and a dodo. They all got out too and followed
Alice and the mouse.
A
DODOS
The dodo became extinct (it no longer exists) at the end of the
17th century.
Five of these animals and birds are extinct and five are imaginary.
Write E for extinct and I for imaginary next to the names. Use the
Internet to find out more about them.
Cave lion Centaur Great auk
Gryphon Irish deer Orc A
Tasmanian tiger Rex Vampire

y
Glossar
O est ma chatte?: French for tail: rats: softly: in a low sweet voice
Where is my cat?
reply: answer walrus: large marine animal
shake: make short quick movements way out: exit
with your body
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Everybody was wet so the dodo suggested a running race to
get dry. It was a strange race. They didnt start together and they
stopped when they liked. But after half an hour they were all dry
again.
Then the mouse began its story. It was a long one about a dog
called Fury and a mouse. Alice couldnt understand it.
You arent listening! the mouse said to her angrily, and
walked away.
Im sorry. Please come back and finish your story! Alice
called but the mouse just walked faster.
Soon all the other animals and birds left, too. Alice felt sad
and lonely and she started to cry again. Then she heard PITTER,
PATTER, PITTER, PATTER. The sound of small feet in the
distance.
Perhaps the mouse is coming back, she thought.
Alices Adventures in Wonderland
A
Alice goes to the White Rabbits house
7 It wasnt the mouse. It was the White Rabbit. He was muttering
to himself as usual.
Oh! Where can they be? Where did I lose them?
Alice guessed that he was looking for his gloves and his fan.
She was a kind little girl and she wanted to help the Rabbit so
she started looking for them, too. Everything around her was
different now. There was no water. There was no room or glass
table. There was no little door.
Very soon the Rabbit saw her and shouted angrily in a high
voice, Mary Ann! What are you doing here? Run home immediately
and bring me a pair of gloves and a fan! And be quick!
He thinks that Im his servant, she said to herself but she
ran away quickly without stopping to explain the mistake to the
Rabbit.
Very soon she saw a little house. She knew it was the Rabbits
house because his name was on the door.
She opened it without knocking and ran up the stairs quickly.

y
Glossar
knocking: making a noise on a door
to say you are arriving
shouted: spoke very loudly
servant: person whose job is to
help someone in their house
stairs: steps inside a house

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 Alices Adventures in Wonderland

She went into a small room. There was a table near the window
and there were gloves and a fan on it. As she picked them up,
she saw a bottle next to the looking-glass. There werent any
instructions on it so she opened it and drank.
Something interesting always happens when I eat or drink
something here, she thought.
And she was right. She started to grow. She grew and grew.
Soon her body filled the room. She couldnt stand up. She had
to lie on the floor and put one arm out of the window and one
foot up the chimney.
What am I going to do now? she wondered.
A few minutes later she heard the White Rabbit outside.
Mary Ann! Bring me my gloves now!
Silence. Then, PITTER PATTER, PITTER PATTER. He was
coming up the stairs. Alice was afraid. She forgot that she was
much bigger than the Rabbit now. He tried to open the door but
he couldnt because she was pushing against it.
He ran back downstairs and outside into the garden.
Alice heard him under the window. She opened her hand to
catch him. The next thing she heard was a little scream and a
CRASH! of broken glass.
Thats the greenhouse, Alice thought.
Next she heard the Rabbit say, Pat! Come here and help me!
(Pat was his gardener).
Yes, your honour, Pat replied.
Whats that in the window?
An arm, your honour.
An arm, you idiot! Its too big for an arm. Whats it doing
there? Take it away immediately!

y
Glossar
chimney: structure that lets smoke looking-glass:
out pushing: pressing with her body
greenhouse: glass house for plants scream: shout
lie: be horizontal

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